Publications

Tanzania’s geographic regions show great variation in diets. Maize dominates the diets in the surplus-maize-producing regions of the Southern Highlands and makes up a smaller share of calories in the maize-deficit regions of the north.

To reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, some policymakers and nutrition advocates argue that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits should not be allowed to be used for purchasing these beverages.

ERS findings suggest how and where funds for wetland protection and restoration might be targeted within States, regions, and across the United States to maximize environmental benefits relative to costs.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for February 2015, describes developments and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates report for beef, pork, lamb, poultry, eggs, and dairy production and trade.

USDA’s 10-year food/farm sector projections cover major agricultural commodities, trade, and aggregate indicators of the U.S. farm sector, like farm income. Population and income growth are drivers of long-term demand for farm commodities.

Fast-developing Vietnam is following in the footsteps of Japan and its model of export-oriented industrialization. Vietnamese agricultural imports are rising fast and appear to be following the historical growth pattern of Japan’s imports. Trade policy in both countries has protected agricultural ...

USDA spends over $5 billion per year on conservation activities, mostly through voluntary programs that pay farmers and landowners to provide environmental services. Program design can use available information to reduce Government expenditures and encourage landowners to provide greater environmen...

New calorie labeling laws requiring chain restaurants and other eating places to post the calorie content of their offerings on menus and menu boards are most likely to influence food choices when consumers learn new, surprising information.

In 20 years after NAFTA’s implementation, U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico increased from $8.9 billion to $39.5 billion, while U.S. agricultural imports from these trading partners rose from $7.4 billion to $39.4 billion.

As WIC matures, emerging issues include equity concerns, food cost management, changes in the WIC food packages, the program's lesser known effects, and the impact of economic conditions on participation.

ERS explores the structure and function of the U.S. nutrition research system, particularly changes in Federal support. Federal investments in nutrition research grew from 1985 to 2009 in real terms, but the portfolio of research changed.

World sugar prices have an important effect on the U.S. sugar sector. This report presents a modeling framework for use in projecting world sugar prices, with detailed treatment of the role of Brazil in the world sugar and ethanol sectors.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for January 2015 analyzes animal product markets based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report for beef, pork, poultry, lamb, and dairy production and trade.

Effective design of auctions for enrolling participants in Federal conservation programs could help meet program goals, reduce Government expenditures, and encourage landowners to provide greater environmental services.

Overall, ERS found that on Salmonella spp tests, suppliers of ground beef to the National School Lunch Program equaled or surpassed the food safety performance of suppliers of ground beef to general commercial markets.

Farming is still an industry of family businesses. Ninety-seven percent of farms are family farms, and they account for 85 percent of farm production. Small farms make up 90 percent of the farm count and operate half of the Nation's farmland. Most farm production, however, occurs on midsize and larg...

Most U.S. farms—97 percent in 2011—are family operations. Small family farms make up 90 percent of the count, though midsize and large-scale family farms produce 60 percent of value of production, per ERS’s latest Family Farm Report.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for December 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report for beef, pork, lamb, poultry, eggs, and dairy production and trade.

The EU is one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of beef, pork, and poultry, but EU tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) policies continue to limit imports of U.S. meats.

As chain restaurants phase in calorie menu labeling, even consumers who discriminate between high- and low-calorie items can better weigh the healthfulness of restaurant foods and make finer adjustments in their food choices.

Despite falling unemployment rates, the prevalence of food insecurity among U.S. households remained relatively stable from the end of the Great Recession (2007-09) through 2013. Higher general inflation, combined with higher relative food prices, offset the effect of lower unemployment.

The study compares distances to outlets for obtaining healthy, affordable food in tribal areas to those for the general U.S. population, with implications for improving the health of tribal populations.

ERS examines the effects of time-use behaviors, sociodemographic characteristics, labor force participation, and prices on fast-food purchasing patterns in the United States before and after the 2007-09 recession.

In regions of India affected the most by a dramatic surge in global food prices several years ago, households coped by sacrificing diet diversity as well as expenditures on medical expenses and durable goods.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for November 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

While urban employment now exceeds pre-recession levels, rural employment remains well below its 2007 peak. Median income in real terms has fallen in both rural and urban areas since 2007, with the drop in rural incomes slightly greater.

Participants in USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) value nutrition as much as other consumers, but their attempts to balance nutrition goals with competing constraints—time, distance to grocery stores, and money—may make it harder for SNAP shoppers to make healthy choices.

In 2010, heat stress is estimated to have lowered annual milk production for the average dairy by about $39,000, totaling $1.2 billion in lost production for the entire U.S. diary sector. Additional heat stress from climate change is expected to lower milk production for the average dairy by 0.60-1....

The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership is expected to increase the value of intraregional agricultural trade by about 6 percent in 2025, and increase U.S. agricultural exports to the region by 5 percent, compared with the baseline.

The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership would increase agricultural exports to Japan from TPP partners, especially in the rice, beef, and dairy sectors, but would have only a marginal impact on Japan's agricultural production.

Vietnam’s agricultural trade gains from TPP may be limited. The United States and Japan are expected to be the primary markets for agricultural export growth. Vietnam’s consumer-oriented sectors provide the largest areas for import growth.

Growth in Federal Crop Insurance (FCI) has generally been attributed to the increase in crop insurance premium subsidies. While ERS research results show the lower costs had only small effects on acreage enrollment, those already enrolled showed an adoption of higher levels of coverage. Results sug...

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for October 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

Rural counties as a whole saw a higher rate of employment decline than urban areas in the recession, and rural employment growth has lagged well behind metro growth in the recovery. See October Amber Waves.

In 2010, heat stress lowered annual milk production for the average dairy by about $39,000, or $1.2 billion for the sector. In 2030, additional heat stress from climate change may lower milk production by an estimated 0.6 to 1.35 percent.

ERS analyzes seasonal patterns in grower prices for several major U.S. fresh fruits markets. Strawberries, grapes, and peaches all have distinct seasonal price patterns. In several cases, the timing of high and low prices has shifted.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for August 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply Demand Estimates (WASDE) report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

In 2010, the average operating and ownership costs per bushel varied between low- and high-cost corn producers but not among producers with different enterprise sizes. Organic production returns exceeded those for conventional production.

Additionality measures the extent to which conservation program payments actually encourage adoption of practices that farmers would not otherwise adopt. Estimates of additionality are high for some practices, particularly installation of soil conservation structures (e.g., terraces) and buffers (e....

Consumers who value health are more likely to use nutrition information when eating out. Those who engage in healthy eating behaviors at home—such as consulting Nutrition Facts labels on grocery store foods or keeping dark green vegetables in their refrigerators, freezers, or pantry shelves—are more...

August 2014 USDA forecasts for U.S. agricultural trade in FY 2014 and 2015 are discussed in this report. Record-high imports and exports expected in 2014. Exports to fall 7 percent in 2015; imports to reach new record.

National nonfarm employment fell by 6.3 percent from its peak in January 2008 to its nadir in February 2010. Nonmetro employment recovered just 0.2 percent from the fourth quarter 2010 to 2013, versus 3.6 percent in metro areas.

ERS examines two possible strategies for containing WIC program costs–inducing small vendors to lower prices, and eliminating the vendors in each vendor peer group (organized by size and geographic location) who have the highest prices.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for August 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

Contract broiler growers earn average household incomes that substantially exceed those of all farm and all U.S. households. Contract growers’ incomes cover a wider range than the incomes of all farm and all U.S. households. The range of income reflects, in part, the risks of contract production; wh...

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for July 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.

The July 2014 report presents and discusses USDA's 2014/15 U.S. and world cotton supply and demand projections, including the revised forecast for 2014 U.S. cotton plantings. In addition, revisions to 2013/14 estimates will be highlighted.

Runoff from agricultural activity and other nonpoint sources contributes to adverse environmental conditions in the Chesapeake Bay, interfering with fish and shellfish production and compromising recreational opportunities. In order to meet Environmental Protection Agency goals for the Chesapeake Ba...

The Agricultural Act of 2014 maintains SNAP’s basic eligibility guidelines and includes provisions designed to encourage SNAP recipients to choose healthy foods and to build the skills needed to increase their employment options. Other provisions aim to improve the food environment at schools and in...

The new Farm Act continues a shift toward closer links between commodity programs and Federal crop insurance, involving complex trade-offs for producers. Read about it in the July issue of Amber Waves magazine.

Increases to premium subsidies can induce farmers to enroll more land in the crop insurance program, but they primarily encourage them to adopt higher levels of coverage on land already enrolled. Effects vary by region and crop type.

ERS reports the rates at which inspection of fruit and vegetable imports into the United States result in phytosanitary treatments at the border, and finds little evidence that phytosanitary regulations affect imports significantly.

The food-insecure population of 76 low- and middle-income countries is projected to fall 9 percent to 490 million in 2014. The food-insecure share of the population is projected to rise from 13.9 percent in 2014 to 14.6 percent in 2024.

The Affordable Care Act will require posted nutrition information in many eating venues. ERS examines demographic traits and dietary habits of U.S. consumers of away-from-home food, establishing a baseline before the law is implemented.

The association of food insecurity with household characteristics and national economic conditions over 2001-12 provides insight into why food insecurity remained at about the same level in 2012 as shortly after the recession.

The broiler industry relies greatly on production contracts, with payment based on performance relative to other producers. Productivity improvements reflect developments in genetics, feed formulations, and housing technologies.

The Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook for June 2014 describes events and outlook based on projections from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Use Estimates Report for beef, pork, poultry, and dairy production and trade.